Build Mental Practice with Imagery

What do you think about during practice sessions? You might think about the technical or physical aspect of practicing, which may involve looking at your hands, adjusting your fingers on the strings or keys, and following the music. Physical practice is important, and so is mental practice or how you think about the music, including expression and imagery as practice guides.

How can you learn to practice with imagery? Performance psychologist, Noa Kageyama shares how his child's music teacher sent them recordings to assist with bowing placement:

To help ensure that my little one was practicing things correctly during the week, her teacher would regularly send us short video clips from lessons which captured those fleeting moments when she suddenly got her bow hold right, or her posture was correct, or her left hand thumb was in exactly the right position.

Recordings as visual aids are an excellent way to demonstrate how to practice your technique, expression, and other musical ideas. In today's society, seeing is believing, which can account for more learning by observation, perhaps even more so than imagination.

Learn more about how to incorporate mental practice here or connect with your instructor!

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